Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi made a deal with Representative Bart Stupak (D-MI) in March in order to secure his vote and that of other pro-life Democrats for the health care bill, according to Progressive political Web site firedoglake.com. Pelosi agreed to let Stupak have a vote on his amendment, which instructs the Senate to replace his language for the Senate language on abortion, according to firedoglake.com.

Stupak’s deal should come as no surprise to the American public. It was a typical political deal, Pelosi needed Stupak’s vote and she had something to bargain with.

The deal blew up in Stupak’s face.

Initially, Stupak said that he would not vote for the Democratic health care bill unless changes were made to limit abortion funding, which won him support from religious Conservatives, according to the Washington Post.

His first amendment, limiting abortion coverage, passed in the House but failed in the Senate, according to the Washington Post.

Ultimately, Stupak voted for the health care bill without any changes to abortion funding. He was able to get President Barack Obama to sign an executive order reaffirming the limits on abortion coverage. Still, his vote to pass health care reform highly upset conservatives who accused Stupak of selling out, according to the Washington Post.

The problem with having President Obama sign an executive order is that in the grand scheme of things they do not hold much significance, according to Liberty professor
Larry Anderson.

Stupak inevitably received a lot of hate mail from conservatives for his vote.

• He received voicemails saying, “There are millions of people across the country who wish you ill. And all of those thoughts projected on you will materialize into something that’s not very good for you,” according to the Media Research Center.

• Another voicemail called for the Congressman’s death.

• One letter contained a drawing of a hanging noose with Stupak’s name at the bottom of the gallows. At the bottom, it read, “All baby killers come to unseemly ends, either by the hand of man or by the hand of God.”

Is it not ironic that individuals who scream “right to life” at the top of their lungs are often the ones who proclaim “hang ‘em high” if others stand in the way of their “right to life” views?
The reality is people should not be surprised at all by Stupak’s vote.

The sooner people realize Washington politicians are looking out for their own interest rather than the interests of their alleged constituency the better.

In early April, Stupak announced he would not be seeking re-election after almost 20 years in Congress, according to the Washington Post.

Stupak is the 16th House Democrat to call it quits on politics this year, according to the Washington Post. That, too, should not come as a surprise.